Ghostbusters Doom Patrol: Till the Clouds Roll By

"H.U.D. is now up and running", Brian said into his wireless headset. Studying his neutrona wand held in his hands, he positioned it in front of a large evergreen in the middle of Philadelphia's forest. Before firing, he said:

"Are you sure this is where the ranger reported the disturbance?" About two miles from where Brian stood, Rob was at the edge of the woods leaning against an old, beat-up stretch hearse.

"Yeah", he replied. "He said something about one of these trees being possessed; messing with most of the hikers out here."

"Of course", Brian said. "I think I might have found it." Standing in front of the evergreen, Brian fired a positively charged ion trail at the tree. He waited for a moment for a reaction of any kind, especially if it caught on fire. Suddenly, the ground underneath the tree began to lurch and quake at Brian's feet.

"Rob, I think I found it." The evergreen's roots began to uproot themselves as the tree's branches took on a life of their own, and began taking swipes at Brian. "Yep, this is the tree." Tucking and rolling down a hill, Brian landed on his back and found himself staring at the tree upside down. Aiming his neutrona wand again, he fired almost on instinct.

"Hey, man...you all right? Need any help?" Rob asked concerned, beginning to unsheathe his wand.

"Not yet", was the reply. Getting to his feet, Brian stopped the streams and watched as the tree swayed back and forth before it stiffened. His eyes widening, Brian shouted "TIMBER!!!!" and immediately jumped out of the way. Over on his end, Rob heard the crash and was already sprinting towards Brian's location.

As the debris began to settle, Brian stood up to see what the real source of the disturbance was: staring back at him was a red-colored demon with yellow eyes. There was hate in its eyes.

"Filthy mortal, must you ruin my fun?" it shouted. Its eyes glowing an eerie yellow, flames shot from its hands and at Brian.

"Whoa! Fire in the hole!" Brian said sidestepping the attack. Concentrating, his own eyes began to take on a bluish coloring as muttered an incantation to himself, "Zararthos dol signa wosi tectrop em!"

His whole body was soon surrounded by a blue shield as the demon summoned another flame attack. Surprised, it said:

"Another member of the Order of Ra? Impossible!"

"My whole career's been nothing short of impossible", Brian said, "but I'm learning to live with it." Repeating his spell beams of hue shot from the shield and at the demon, who circled around over Brian's head. Timing it just right as the demon made a dive towards him, Brian switched his pack to its sonic-boom mechanism. Even if it does not blow it to pieces, Brian smirked, he knew it was about to get one heck of a headache!

The demon tried to protect its ears against the attack, coming down lower and lower until it was about three feet about Brian's head. Quickly, Brian switched back to his proton stream and ensnared the demon in his beam.

"Can I be of assistance?" Rob asked smirking as he walked up towards Brian. He was tossing a sphere shaped object up and down in his hand.

"Yeah, you can throw the damn trap already!" Brian said. Grinning, Rob tossed the sphere underneath the demon. Immediately, four metal legs shot from the sides of the sphere and firmly placed themselves in the ground. There was a tiny latch with the familiar NO-GHOST logo on the top that opened, encircling the demon in its light. Turning their heads away from the beams, Rob and Brian heard the ghost screech in protest. Then there was the fissuring of the trap as it closed and they saw the familiar static surround it.

"Well, I'd say that the new equipment tests positive", Rob said patting his neutrona wand as he went over to pick up the small sphere.

"Interesting that you based this new design on a Poke-ball", said Brian stifling a laugh as Rob attached the sphere to his belt.

Confused, Rob furrowed hid eyebrows, "Poke-what?"

. . .

"Yo, CJ! We got another delivery here!" Rob shouted as he and Brian walked through the doors of the incomplete headquarters of the newly formed Ghostbusters Doom Patrol. It was a slightly tall, ascending structure located underneath the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, a road turning off the bridge led to it. Outside, there were numerous crews from Con-Edison drilling and fixing the pipes that lined it.

"Dude, I don't think he's here", Brian said pointing to CJ's empty desk. There was a half-eaten hamburger on a plate from Wendy's still sitting in front of the chair; next to it were various invoices, bills, and comic books of varying titles.

"Well, if he's not gonna come back", Rob said reaching for the hamburger, "then it'd be a shame for this burger to go to waste."

"You touch that burger and you'll die."

Startled, Rob and Brian backed away from the desk as CJ climbed from underneath it, shaking the dust from his hair.

"One question", Brian said. "Why? Why are you hiding underneath your desk?"

"Because of the task you guys gave me", CJ said nearly groaning as he slumped into his chair. It heaved once, but held its ground.

"While Andrew and Salina are off directing the construction crews outside, I've been saddled with the task of auditioning for our 'brand-new secretarial position'."

"What's so bad about that?" Brian asked as his eyes widened.

"Are you joking?" CJ exclaimed. "Some of the nutcases that have come through here are scary! Here, take a look at this one chick." He handed Brian a vanilla folder with a picture of a woman, about twenty-four, inside with her credentials.

Flipping through it, Brian said, "What? I don't see anything so bad about...Sheira Saunders." Rob veered his head over the folder to see for himself, rolled his eyes at CJ, and had to laugh.

"What can be so wrong about someone who studied for four years at Harvard, got a B.A. degree in Communications, and came with such high recommendations?"

"You didn't meet her. That's the problem." CJ sighed. "She walked in and the first thing she asked was 'OOOHHHHH! GHOSTBUSTERS!!!! I LOVE THOSE GUYS!!!! You get to mess around with those lighty-things and zap ghosts and stuff like that! And all of them are all so huggable and cute!'"

Upon hearing that, Brian and Rob held back briefly with stifled laughter, then stood right and then gained their composure again.

"So I tell her, 'There's a lot more to Ghostbusters than just being cute. There's a lot of hard work and science that goes into it.' But she cuts me off and says: 'Oh that, well I do have my degrees and all so I could hack it pretty well.' Then I say that the position that's open is only as secretary and she looks at me like I've called her a derogatory name or something and she starts to cry and say: 'BUT I WANTED TO BE A GHOSTBUSTER!' I tell her I'm sorry, but she storms out."

"Any others?" Brian asked wiping away a tear from his eyes, while thumbing through the folder.

"Yeah", CJ said pushing aside his comic books. "One here I want to burn because this person would only work if it meant she didn't have to touch our quarries. Another said she'd only work once a month because of her schedule. And this third one, I won't even mention, only that she completely offended the New York Yankees and said that Aquaman was the suckiest member of the original Justice League."

"Well, there wasn't much the man could do but swim and talk to fish!" Rob said deadpan.

"Don't start with me man, I've had a rough day", CJ said reaching for his hamburger and taking a big chomp out of it. "There was one more woman who came in. She seemed nice and had good credentials, but when she spoke, she damn near scared the crap out of me."

"What did she say?" Brian asked.

"Its not what she said; its how she sounded." CJ groaned. "Her voice was deep like Barry White. You get my drift?"

"Dayum." Rob backed away, jaded. Taking a fresh toothpick out of his pocket, he put one in his mouth.

"I tell you, if I get one more douche bag today I'm going to go completely mad!" CJ said.

"Don't go yet man", Brian said patting CJ on his shoulder. "We can't afford another expert in ectoplasm." At that moment, there came a knock on the door of the HQ. CJ, Rob, and Brian all turned their heads at the same time, to see a small young woman walk inside. She had light brown hair, and green eyes that reminded them of Dr. Venkman.

"Hi", she said pleasantly holding a similar vanilla folder that CJ had seen all day. "Um, I called earlier about the auditions for the secretary job that was advertised, but nobody answered the phone."

"That's my fault", CJ said. "Damn Verizon hasn't shut our phones on yet."

"It's cool, but is the position still open or am I too late?" CJ looked at his watch and shrugged his shoulders. He was about to answer when Rob said:

"Ah, yes it is miss. Do you have your credentials in order?"

"Certainly", she said handing it over to Rob, who opened it and immediately began to peruse through it.

"Interesting, ...Ms. Cummins, or should I call you Erin?"

"Erin's fine with me."

"Okay. It says here you have had considerable study into film, is this correct?"

"Yes it is. I studied for a number of years into the art of cinematography and learned most of the tricks that go into it. I wanted to be a director."

"What happened with that?" CJ asked.

"I hate the fact that Hollywood's so fake right now."

"Sounds fair", Rob said. "And there is a small part here about Criminology...?"

"That was at a point when I wasn't sure that the film career was gelling right so I took up the study of the criminal mind."

"Nice", Brian said nodding.

"Meh, I don't know," CJ said. "I mean, you have a much better personality than some of the dregs I've had to talk to today, but I'm not sure if a film student is qualified for the secretarial position that we're offering."

"Which is?"

CJ was about to answer when Salina came bursting in. "Glad you're here guys", she said. "Those three guys from Con-ED just won't listen!"

"What's the matter?" Rob asked.

"I'm trying to tell them that we're doing business inside and to keep the noise down, but they just won't listen to reason. Andrew's out there ready to punch the lights out of one of them."

"Oh boy", CJ sighed rubbing his eyes. "Well, let's see what all's happening."

There did indeed appear to be a disturbance outside, near where Doom Patrol's headquarters was. Three Con-Edison workers held drills in their hands, upturned earth strewn about them. The leader, a tall burly man with a stubbly beard and double chin, was face-to-face with Andrew. Already a crowd of people had gathered.

"HOW THE HELL CAN YOU TELL ME HOW AND WHERE TO DO MY JOB?"

"Like this: Move the goddamn equipment somewhere or else!"

"Or else what, asshole?" The outspoken Con-ED man puffed out his chest and pushed Andrew backward.

"Look man, I don't want any trouble. Just move the stuff so we can concentrate on our work. And plus, you don't want to pick a fight with me, tubby."

"Oooh, I'm shakin' in my boots here guys. Listen, you called us ova' here to fix the pothole problem and then you hassle us about the noise level?"

"Okay, guys," CJ said breaking in between the two before they began to brawl. "Mr. Seward, we're in the middle of conducting some sensitive business regarding the paranormal, and it would be ill regarded if these experiments were disturbed by your drilling, as well as our interviewing processes. Would you want that on your head if something exploded?"

"Of course not."

"Then please, move to another area."

Seward thought for a moment on this, and then shook his head. "No. I have a job to do. Why don't you go back to your Calculus and stuff Urkel?"

A fuse seemed to go off inside CJ as he shouted, "Why you mother------!" and attempted to jump Seward, but was stopped by Andrew who grabbed his shirt collar.

"He ain't worth it man, believe me."

"Yeah, but he's not going to get away with that insult!"

"Can I help in some way?" CJ and Andrew turned around to look at Erin Cummins, the woman who had auditioned to be secretary.

"Who are you?" Andrew asked. But he didn't get any reply as Erin strolled past him and walked up to Seward, who was laughing it up with his fellow Con-ED workers.

"Listen guys, where're you supposed to be drilling at?"

"Podunk Avenue", Seward replied.

"I see, well, this isn't Podunk, its Passyunk Street!" Seward's face dropped as he looked towards one of his pals.

"Is that true?" One of his associates looked at the work shift list and he laughed nervously.

"Well, boss, anyone can make a mistake..."

"Just shut up." Seward turned back towards Erin and Doom Patrol. "Uh, I don't know how to say this, but sorry for wasting your time and you won't be billed by the city for the work that was done."

"And I won't call your boss about your blunder, so we both win."

Saying nothing else, Seward and the rest of his Con-ED cronies piled the equipment back into their truck and began to pull out of the driveway of the HQ.

"Wow", CJ said as the Con-ED truck left dust. "I've never seen that happen before."

"Yeah", Andrew said. "But uh who is this again?"

"Erin Cummins", Erin said extending her hand towards Andrew, who shook it.

"Our new secretary", Rob added.

. . . .

"...So this is our headquarters as you can see", Salina said showing Erin around. "It's not much to start off with, but it'll work until we can get some more jobs."

"One question", Erin asked. "I have done research on the Ghostbusters, and they all seem to have a containment unit of some sort for the ghosts they trap and it doesn't seem you guys have one yet."

"We do, actually", Salina said. "CJ and Rob—the two fellows you met earlier—are going over some schematics concerning the development of our ECU. I've seen what they've got in mind, and believe me it's impressive."

"What do you use now?"

"A smaller design, something more akin to the shape of a refrigerator. It's difficult to explain, only that there is enough more room inside because of a pocket universe Brian found."

"That just went over my head" Erin said laughing. She was cut short by the sound of a whistle.

"Mail's here", Brian said walking inside with a cadre of envelopes.

"Anything good?" Salina asked.

"Bill from Verizon, bill from Adelphia Plumbing & Heating Co, bill from that guy that was hit by a flying coconut at the supermarket bust. Oh, look what we have here..." He held one letter high in the air, examining it. "Who's that one from?"

"You wouldn't believe it, but it's from NBC."

"The National Broadcasting Company that puts on Fear Factor and Jeopardy, that NBC?"

"Yeah", Brian replied tearing open the letter. Scanning through it, he grinned. "Hey Erin, call CJ and Rob up here. They gotta hear this. Where's Andrew?"

"Up in his room doing god knows what", Salina said looking towards the stairs.

"He's so mysterious" Brian said scratching his head. "Oh well, then just call Rob and Ced."

"Okay." Erin went over to her new desk, the one closest to the door and picked up the telephone receiver, beginning to dial a number. Inside the basement, CJ and Rob were in the middle of discussing the size of the ECU when the phone rang.

"They'll be up in a minute", Erin said hanging up the phone.

"What's all this about", CJ asked as he and Rob came up from the basement.

"We've got a letter from NBC", Brian said. "It says that the network would like us to appear as special guests on Late Night with Conan O'Brien tomorrow night."

"You serious?" Rob asked.

"Yeah, and they're willing to pay us $25,000 apiece for a one night shot that we'll have to confirm with today."

"Conan's always liked Ghostbusters", Salina said. "I wouldn't think we shouldn't take the offer."

"Yeah, I agree, but come on...25 G's a piece? That's a little much. But, its NBC, so I guess they can afford it", Rob nodded. "Besides, we could use the extra money to restore headquarters and whatever money is left over, we'll put into the ECU."

"I'll call them now", Erin said, then remembered that they couldn't call out.

"Damn Verizon", CJ muttered flipping open his cellular phone and handing it to Erin.

. . .

"You the Duke Patrol?" An elderly gruff security guard met the ghostbusting team at the backdoor of NBC studios, at the area where the Conan O'Brien show was about to start airing in one hour.

Andrew raised an eyebrow. "That's Ghostbusters Doom Patrol. Do I look like Robotman to you sir?"

The guard shook his head. "I don't read comics kid", he said and opened the door wider, letting the team inside. "That there equipment ain't dangerous is it? If it is, I have to confiscate it." He was looking at Brian's proton pack.

"Turned down it isn't", Brian replied coolly and held his neutrona wand in his hands. "Besides, the NBC exec said that Conan wanted us to demonstrate the power of our...."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, their powerful lightsabers. Just go inside. Ask for Matt Sweeny."

The inside of the studio was lined with Emmy's, awards, and other honors that the studio has been bestowed upon in the past fifty years. Their were even portraits of those who have had the pleasure of working for NBC, many of which featured Johnny Carson schmoozing it up with a foreign guest or up and coming comic.

"So who's this Matt Sweeny guy?" Salina asked.

"I think he might be the stage manager", CJ replied, shifting his head around to see where the fellow might be. He stopped in his tracks as they passed by a dressing room.

"Why'd you stop?" Rob asked, bumping into him.

"It's...it's...her!"

"Her who?"

"Sheena Lyndon!" CJ whispered, and nodded his head towards a young woman, slightly older than he was with stunning raven black hair. From the glance at the mirror, her face was nicely shaped, almost Asian in her looks.

"Who's Sheena Lyndon?" Salina asked, trying to get a good look at the woman. CJ stared down sheepishly as he replied:

"She's a pop star."

Brian tried stifling a laugh. He found it funny that a guy who listened to Blink-182 and AC/DC could find room in his cd collection for a pop star.

"But she's not like Britney and Christina", CJ said quickly. "Her stuff's geared more towards rock and pop. You guys should've heard that live version she did of 'Creep' by Radiohead. It was awesome! I hope she's gonna be on the show with us tonight!"

"I'll bet", Andrew said passively dragging CJ away from the door by his collar. "But remember why we're here?"

"Yeah, you're right", CJ said hiking up his proton pack and continued the search for Sweeny, but not before getting one last look at Sheena Lyndon.

Salina rolled her eyes, and turned around looking at Rob.

The bald-headed Doom Patrolman put up his hands in defense. "Hey, don't look at me. I'm more of a Janet Jackson type of brotha'."

. . .

With a clipboard in his hand, the stage manager, Matt Sweeny, stood opposite the drum set used by Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg 7. It was obvious he was in the process of making sure things were going to go smoothly tonight. In the stands, there weren't very many people, thought it was becoming obvious that it was beginning to fill up.

"Excuse me", Salina said. "But are you Matt Sweeny?" Sweeny looked up at her.

"Yeah that's me. You guys must be the Ghostbusters Doom Patrol Conan was so bent on getting tonight. I read how you guys solved that problem out in Nevada. Pretty cool I must say."

"Thanks", Rob replied. "When do we go on?"

"You go on after Sheena Lyndon finishes her set..."

"Oh, here we go", Andrew lowered his head and thought to himself when CJ was given that news.

"You mean Sheena Lyndon is actually going to appear on this show? Here? Tonight?" CJ asked surprised, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, didn't you read the marquee on the front? In any case, she'll be doing two songs from her new album and get interviewed by Conan. You guys are on next. By the way, you didn't bring a ghost here tonight?"

Brian held up the ghost-sphere that he had used earlier in the week in the palm of his hand. "It's only a Class I Specter. Nothing serious or dangerous about it."

"I hope so", Sweeny said. "When Conan asked for you guys to give a live demonstration of your equipment, I had hoped that he was only kidding. Ah well, please try not to damage anything; if you break it, you but it."

"Hey, we're Ghostbusters." Salina reassured Sweeney in a way to make him believe that they were trained professionals.

"Yeah, exactly" Sweeny replies with a bit of sarcasm. "PLACES PEOPLE! WE GOT A SHOW TO DO! Ghostbusters, you sit there until Lyndon finishes up." He pointed to a spot behind the stage where a table and chairs had already been set up for them. Above them was a screen, where they would be watching the show.

"Isn't this a jip", Andrew said. "No snacks or anything to drink and we got thirty minutes to bum around until we go on."

"Could be worse", Rob said. "We could have ended up on Carson Daily."

. . .

"From NBC Studios in New York, it's Late Night with Conan O' Bri-en!!!!"

The applause from the audience resounded all around the studio, as Max Weinberg and his band played the usual hot jazz number that always opened the show.

"...Tonight, fresh off of her tour of Europe, Sheena Lyndon! And, direct from the town of Philadelphia, the hottest thing in paranormal research and defense, the Ghostbusters Doom Patrol!!!!

"Who told him to say 'hottest thing in paranormal research and defense'?" Brian asked. "That makes us sound like we're Hellboy and the B.P.R.D."

Conan walked onto the stage, almost guided by Weinberg's downbeat. Wearing a charcoal gray suit with a red tie, he almost went back to the days of Carson and Paar. On his jacket lapel, he was sporting a Ghostbusters NO- GHOST logo.

"Hi, welcome to the show everybody. As you know, I'm about as giddy as a schoolgirl meeting Kobe Bryant on prom night, and why wouldn't I? We've got not one, but six excellent guests here tonight. You know our first guest is, of course, the talented and should I mention lovely Miss Sheena Lyndon!" ((audience applauds again near deafening))

Feeling cocky, Conan flicks his comb-over red hair, moistens his index and pinky fingers, coolly slicking back his eyebrows. "Oh yes, that's right. She is straight from her immensely sold out tour in Europe where I hear that she had to have American water imported in every step of the way. I mean can you blame her? She's a celebrity; she can do what she wants. Heck, I don't think my assistant Wilbur even likes me. ((Whispers to the audience))...I think he's after me lucky charms."

The studio camera takes a shot at Wilbur among the stage crew; he smiles innocently at Conan, giving him the thumbs up sign. "Enjoying your coffee Mr. O'Brian?"

"Yeah, thanks Wilbur." Conan waved at Wilbur and smiled just before he took a sip of the coffee that Wilbur made for him...and then thought for a second and realized drinking it wasn't a good idea. "Um, I'll have some of this later, Wilbur. But, thanks anyway, buddy."

Wilbur continues smiling and giving Conan the thumbs up sign. At that moment, the audience could hear a pre-recorded voice-over of Wilbur's thoughts over the P.A. system.

"Damn you Conan O'Brian. Damn you to hell!"

((The audience expresses laughter))

"Anyway, as she's here tonight to grace our stage with two selections from her new album The Big Noise, and it's not what some of you guys are thinking. And, folks, this is probably the greatest moment of my life, but we have the number one name in paranormal elimination. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm talking about the Ghostbusters!" ((more applause from the audience)) "While not the Ghostbusters, it's still a kick-ass team. You might've heard of them in the news, they're the guys and girl who saved that town in Nevada from turning into the 10th Level of Hell no more than a month ago. Ah, I'm spoiling the show; let's get it started! Max, hit it!" ((The Max Weinberg 7 played a piece that sounded vaguely similar to a Beach Boys song.))

The show takes a commercial break. [Fade out]

[Fade in] Back from commercial break.

Appearing at his desk, Conan motioned for the audience to settle (after someone shouted "I LOVE YOU CONAN!!!" from his seat). "Okay, settle down guys. As you all know we got one helluva show tonight I'm tellin' you. My first guest, you know my first guest as the contender for Queen of the Teenyboppers, who's self-titled debut album knocked even Britney Spears off the top of the charts. This weekend, she'll be appearing at the Hippodrome theater in downtown New York, and two weeks from now will be hosting Saturday Night Live with special guest Megan Mullaly from the hit 'Will and Grace', please welcome Sheena Lyndon!"

CJ turned his attention away from the screen to look towards the small, almost dainty figure descend past the Doom Patrol and towards the stage. "Excuse me", Sheena Lyndon said softly as she brushed past him, her hair flapping in the invisible wind. He was brought back to earth only by Salina snapping her fingers together.

Sheena Lyndon was dressed very casually for a network show, wearing a Supergirl t-shirt with dark blue jeans and boots. Conan got up from his desk and hugged her once as she took the closest seat next his desk.

"Wow, I gotta say it's quite an honor to have you on the show here tonight Miss Lyndon."

"Thank you Conan, I know it's nice to be here and all. I've never missed an episode of your show."

"Well thanks", Conan said. "Everything seems to be going all well for you. I mean, from the looks of things, you just released a brand new album and people are already beginning to talk about Grammy's; you are up for that lead female role in Quentin Tarentino's American adaptation of the Japanese comic book Perfect Blue; and you just came off of an amazing tour in Europe, as if I haven't said that enough."

"You're right, the tour was amazing. The townspeople we visited in Dover and Paris and even Glasgow were really nice and actually know the lines to my songs better than I do! ((audience laughter))"

"Right, but what about that Tarentino project that's been garnering so much attention? I mean, after Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 wrapped I thought he was going to focus on that World War 2 script we've heard about."

"Well, Quentin read the comic version of the story and loved its mystery content of a popstar who decides to shed her squeaky clean image and become a movie star. Plus, the anime wasn't all that bad either. So Quentin decided to do a live-action version of the film, and has strongly asked me to play the role of Ai Asaka."

"Cool, I'm sure I'll be in line for tickets when it comes out."

"We're shooting for a 2005 release date, maybe in the summer."

"Even better, you'll have Batman, Star Wars, The Fantastic Four, and Indiana Jones to play around with."

"Yeah, but I think people will come to see it anyway, especially those that have actually seen the original anime of the film."

"Cool, when we get back, Miss Lyndon will regale us two songs from her new album, and we'll meet the Ghostbusters Doom Patrol, all that's next so stay tuned!" ((Cactus Chef plays "Ghostbusters" theme by Ray Parker Jr. at this point))

"Okay folks, one of the moments you've been waiting for. Ms. Sheena Lyndon will perform the smash hit single 'Somewhere and Nowhere' from her new album. Hit it!"

The teleprompter in front of the stage immediately began to light up and display the words to Sheena's single, helped along by the Max Weinberg 7 who provided the music. Andrew shook his head as he noticed CJ quietly singing along with Sheena, seemingly in a trance by the performance.

All was going pleasantly enough, until it was Sweeny, from the control room, who noticed that cameras five, six, and seven had all gone out. "What the hell?" he asked. "Hey, Neil, you asleep or what out there?"

"Nah boss, I'm getting all of it."

"Then why the hell is it that your cameras not online?"

"Wha--?"

Conan's attention was turned towards the teleprompter, not the situation with the cameras. He had begun to notice that it was flickering every now and then, not unusual for equipment this old, but weird that it was going off every few seconds. Sheena didn't seem to be bothered by it; she was singing the song from memory anyway. Conan pointed to the prompter, signaling a mechanic to fix it. Suddenly, the teleprompter exploded, flinging the mechanic backwards before he managed to get to it.

"Hey look!" Brian pointed as a mist began to creep out of the teleprompter. It wasn't smoke, which was evident when Salina's PKE meter began to go off. Whipping it out, she said plainly:

"Looks like we won't need to use that small ghost after all." She immediately whipped out her neutrona wand and charging it. By now, the mist had begun to take shape and form: it looked like the ghost of a young woman, about early to middle twenties with dark brown hair that reached down to her shoulders. She was wearing a red parka with a white skirt. CJ's eyes widened as he realized that the ghost was making her way towards Sheena Lyndon, who was now frozen in fear on the spot. The hatred in the ghost's eyes made the lighting fixtures above her crackle and fizz.

"Remember me Sheena? Your best friend, the one you promised never to forget, through thick and thin?"

Sheena began to back away from the ghost. Conan walked up to it and said:

"Listen Ms. Ghost ma'am, if you're with the Ghostbusters great, but you kind of made my mechanic unconscious and..."

But the ghost didn't listen, instead turning its head towards him. With a single stare, she flung Conan through his own desk, and then turned her attention back to Sheena.

At this point, the audience has become terrified. No one in the stage area of the studio was able to leave through the exits because the doors had been mysteriously locked.

"No one can save you now, Sheena. Don't try to run; it will do you no good. Vengeance will be mine for what you did."

"Hey poozer!"

The ghost looked and saw CJ, Rob, Andrew, Brian, and Salina standing in front of her. By now, the studio audience had tried to make a break for the doors, but to no avail they could not break free. Everyone was trapped.

"Do you have to start every battle with 'poozer'?" Rob asked CJ.

"Helps eases my fears", he replied. "Now, whoever you are, you've just disrupted a very excellent show, caused massive panic, and you've knocked poor Conan on his ass!"

Conan manages to weakly move after being thrown threw his desk. He peeks over his chair and shouts.

"Yeah!"

"You, my dearly deceased woman are an uninvited guest. So we're giving you two options", Andrew said, "Option A: You go away and leave everyone alone." Brian, Salina, and Rob charged up their neutrona wands while, he held up the ghost trap in his hand. "Or, you can take Option B, which is, if you don't take Option A, things will get pretty rowdy around here and ugly for you."

"I'll take Option C, which is you can't save Sheena from me. So, screw you!" The ghost of the young woman advanced upon the Doom Patrol with immense speed.

"Rob, I think I like her already. Think I have a shot." Andrew asks.

"I'd say you have a ghost of a chance, playa'."

"Miss Lyndon, run over toward the safety of the crowd!" CJ yelled. "You'll be safer there!" She nodded as she made way for one of the sealed exits of the studio.

"Okay boys...and Salina", Brian said. "FIRE!" Five proton streams sailed towards the female ghost, but she dodged them with ease.

"Is it me", CJ said, his stream knocking loose the catwalk as it fell towards the stage, "or is she laughing at us?"

"It's just you", Rob said, trying to knock the ghost off course. He managed to wing her shoulder, which caused her to fly through the wall and into the control room.

Kicking down the door, Rob yelled:

"Everybody out! We got official Ghostbusters business to conduct here!"

Before exiting with the control room crew, Sweeny said, "I hope you're other ghost was a lot tamer than this one."

Rob replies, "Sir, she's not one of ours."

"Sal, you got a reading?" Andrew asked.

"It's faint, but think it's coming from inside that closet", she replied, pointing to the broom closet. The five Ghostbusters crept towards it quietly as Brian gripped the handle.

"Okay guys, when I open this door, on the count of three, fire at will. 1....2....3!!!!" The words were barely out of his mouth when the door exploded in an array of white foam that engulfed the entire Doom Patrol. Using his canny instincts, Andrew managed to dodge most of the foam, making his way towards the closet, only to find an empty fire extinguisher and slime residue sliding down the wall.

Coughing, Rob asked, "Is everyone all right?"

"My pride's kind of hurt", Brian said looking at the extinguisher. Behind him, he could hear the patter of many feet rushing up the stairs and towards the control room. Blocking the doorway was a wide array of reporters and photographers.

"Go get 'em, will you Andrew", Rob said pointing towards the lot.

. . .

"...And that was the scene yesterday at NBC Studios in New York as an unidentified specter attacked the set of the popular talk show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, putting both Conan and mechanic Douglas Shiba in the hospital with minor injuries. Not satisfied with Conan O'Brien, the specter turned its attention towards visiting pop sensation Sheena Lyndon, as this footage shows, courtesy of NBC Studios."

"Interesting how they're saving us for last", CJ said. It had been no more than twenty-four hours since the attack, and the Doom Patrol was back in Philadelphia. Watching the television with him were Erin, Andrew, and Brian, as Rob and Salina were downstairs doing some maintenance work on the still unfinished ECU.

"I don't know", Erin said. "I've watched this show before. They usually twist things around so much that it leaves the subject matter backwards, especially if it's coming from the mouth of Jane Robards."

"Aw come on, you see how the press loves us."

"Perhaps unfortunate for the audience, the Ghostbusters Doom Patrol were on duty that night and happened to be on the scene at the time of the attack. As you are seeing, they immediately went to work without checking first that the audience was out of danger."

"Is she shitting me?" Andrew cried rising to the floor. "The audience was locked in with the rest of us when we started. Hell, they couldn't clear out when that prompter blew up!"

"Disregard for their surroundings is also evident in this next clip, showing the destruction of a catwalk that very nearly destroys Conan O'Brien's stage." CJ grinned sheepishly as he slunk back in his chair.

"For promoting themselves as professionals, the Doom Patrol certainly did not act very professional, as you see. Our photographer, before being attacked by Mr. Andrew Williams of the Doom Patrol, managed to capture these images of a defeated team of so called heroes and shows the lack of respect for journalists that the Doom Patrol has. And, as if this weren't enough, the team also let the ghost escape, the ghost having sprayed the team with a fire extinguisher and possibly exiting through a wall. The total cost of damages done to the stage has not yet been finalized, but is roughly estimated at being $18,000 by our studio experts.

And that is all in the news for today. As always, I'm Jane Robards. Good night!"

"Turn it off...just turn it off", Brian said solemnly.

"Are we just going to let this stand?" Andrew asked. "She made idiots out of us on national TV and all you're going to say is 'turn it off'?"

"What more can we do?" CJ asked. "The ghost got away and they have the right to make a story out of it." Andrew grumbled and began walking away, making his way upstairs. "Where're you going?"

"Our training room, is it finished?" Andrew said without turning around.

"Dunno, might be."

"Then that's where I'll be." After Andrew had left, Brian shook his head. "He does have a point", he said. "I mean it wasn't our fault that that ghost got away." "I got to applaud it though", CJ said. "Not many forms of ectoplasm can think they way it did." "It all seems weird", Erin added, "that that ghost reminded me of somebody." Brian raised his eyebrow. "Oh really?" he said. "Who?" "I can answer that." All three turned around to face a portly gentleman with dark hair that was combed lopsidedly to one side. He was wearing a coat that made him look like one of those film-noir detectives. "The door was left open I see", CJ said. "Sorry for the interruption", the gentleman added, reaching into his coat pocket for his wallet. Opening it, a gold badge gleamed in the light. It read: MADISON, PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT 4983. "My name is Madison, a detective for the 7th District of the Philadelphia Police Department." "Pleased to meet you, sir", Brian said cordially, inviting him over to a seat. "You said something about you know the identity of the ghost?" Madison nodded and removed a packet from the inside of his pocket, handing it to Brian. Opening it, an entire dossier of pictures and articles fell out. "Hey!" CJ said pointing to one of the pictures. "That's Sheena Lyndon right there, but she's...younger..." "That was taken about five years ago at the Pittsburgh County Fair", Detective Madison replied. "She was engaged in a concert at that date, probably the first time she played to a large audience." "Who's the other girl next to her sharing the microphone?" Erin asked. Detective Madison interrupted, "That...is your ghost."

TO BE CONTINUED....